30/06/2025 18:15
Max Verstappen has earned slightly more breathing room after the
removal of two penalty points from his superlicence following the
Austrian Grand Prix. However, the reigning world champion is still
facing the threat of a race ban with nine points remaining on his
licence. After his Spanish Grand Prix collision with George
Russell, Verstappen was handed three penalty points by the
stewards, taking him to 11 for the 12-month period with 12 needed
for an automatic one-race ban. With the next set due to come off on
Monday, 30 June, the day after the Austrian GP, it meant Verstappen
had to navigate the Canadian and Austrian GPs penalty-free to avoid
the ignominy of becoming the first world champion to be banned from
a race. Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, and Nigel Mansell all
earned race bans before they became world champion. Fortunately,
for Verstappen, he got through Canada penalty-free, and then was
taken out at Turn 3 by Kimi Antonelli, meaning he will not be
banned for the British Grand Prix. This is because the two penalty
points he earned for causing a collision with Lando Norris at the
2024 Austrian GP have now been scrubbed from his record, dropping
him to nine penalty points. However, it does mean that if there is
a repeat of the Russell incident between now and the Mexico City
Grand Prix in October, Verstappen could be banned. Check out the
full list of driver penalty points, updated after the Austrian
Grand Prix here. Max Verstappen - penalty points Two points -
expire October 27th, 2025. For forcing Lando Norris off-track
during the 2024 Mexico City GP. One point - expires November 1st,
2025. For being under the VSC minimum delta in Sao Paulo GP sprint.
One point - expires December 1st, 2025. For driving unnecessarily
slowly on qualifying cooldown lap at Qatar GP. Two points - expire
December 8th, 2025. For causing a collision with Oscar Piastri in
2024 Abu Dhabi GP. Three points - expire June 1st, 2026. For
causing a collision with George Russell in 2025 Spanish GP.
